Men's Tennis

2016 New faces and lots of action!!

Current update: As of April 4, 2016

Quotes from Coach Ron Ward.

The men's team all improved immensely. #1 singles, Yuri Amisiov finished with a 50/50 record. He hardly came to practice all year because of classes. He is a great kid and always had a great attitude. Despite all, Yuri qualified for the State Championships in the Conference tournament last week. He had a fantastic tournament. I expect him to do very well at the State Championships.

The Women's team record was 16-3. They finished second in the Conference and 3rd in the North. Early in the season, the women won the Mission Event where every team from the North participated. Canada Community College has four very good players and we lost both matches to them 5-4 during the season. In both contests, the match came down to #1 doubles where we lost in tiebreakers after being up 6-1 both matches. I think if we play them in the team playoffs we will win. Van Nguyen and Polina Gorshenin will get substantially better in the next 3 weeks because, finally they will be practicing! They hardly ever practiced last quarter due to classes and work.

Van Nguyen is the #1 seeded single's player in the North. And Van and Polina possibly #2 in doubles. All six De Anza women qualified in singles and doubles for the State event.

I am very proud of the team 1 thru 6 are very solid. Sophie Fauspour playing 4 thru 6 singles has not lost in two years!

Upcoming events: Team championships this Tuesday, April 5, 2016 against Folsom Lake Community College at home at 1pm. If we win then on to Fresno and possibly on to the State Championships.

Hear from Current Players

Sayed Tavakoli

As a walk-on, Sayed Hatef Tavakoli has earned the number one single’s position. Hatef was born in Iran. He became obsessed with the game of tennis at the age of 13. He competed in the Iranian age-group tennis program and was ranked first in each level before leaving for college in Dubai at age 17. Hatef immigrated to California with his family in September 2015

Two days prior to the start of the fall 2015 term, Hatef came to the De Anza campus for the first time. Accompanied by a family friend, he bumped into the dean of Physical Education and Athletics, who gave him information about the tennis team and how to connect with the tennis coach.

“I checked an old article on the De Anza website and when I saw that there were 27,000 students enrolled, I was ecstatic,” said Hatef. “In the college I attended at Dubai, there were only 3,000 students. I love the college life at De Anza -- the campus is so alive. I love the diverse cultures. I love the training room. I am so impressed with the facility and staff; they are so professional and helpful. At home, I had to figure out how to take care of myself. “

Hatef is still searching for a major and is actively exploring possibilities. He would like to attend UCLA and hopes that his 4.0 G.P.A. will help.

Hatef is also an active participant in the Iranian community and participates as a volunteer in several community groups. In the near future, Hatef hopes to teach young athletes sportsmanship and Farsi in a community program.